At the Ascension Alexian Brothers Gamma Knife Center on our hospital campus an experienced team of neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons use Gamma Knife stereotactic to treat non-cancerous brain disorders, including:
- Arteriovenous malformations (tangle of blood vessels in the brain)
- Brain tumors (non-cancerous lesions)
- Functional disorders, such as acoustic neuroma and tremors
- Movement disorders, such as Parkinson's
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Tumors at the base of the skull
- Vestibular schwannoma (tumor leading from the inner ear to the brain)
Cancer treatment: Gamma Knife may be recommended to treat some types of brain cancer as a primary or supplemental treatment option in combination with surgery, chemotherapy and other forms of radiation therapy.
Targeted tumor therapy: Gamma Knife is a precise way to deliver radiation to a tumor, tangle of blood vessels or inflamed nerves in the brain or skull, and avoid the surrounding healthy tissue. Gamma Knife is a minimally invasive, nonsurgical, outpatient procedure. Most patients need just a single treatment and recover at home and then can typically resume their daily activities in two to three days.
Find a doctor specializing in the Gamma Knife procedure
Ask our neurological specialists if the Gamma Knife procedure is right for you.
George K Bovis, MD, Gamma Knife Center, Medical Director, Neurosurgeon
Find a neurosurgeon
Find a Gamma Knife radiosurgery specialist in Chicago
To schedule an appointment at Ascension Alexian Brothers Neurology, call 847-956-5428.
Neurosurgical evaluation for Gamma Knife
Your experienced team includes a radiation oncologist, neurologist or neurosurgeon. During your evaluation for the Gamma Knife procedure, our team analyzes tests and imaging studies of your condition to determine the size and type of tumor and if Gamma Knife is recommended.
If Gamma Knife is being used for a cancerous tumor, our team works with your oncologist and other specialists to determine the right treatment option for you.
Gamma Knife procedure is covered by most major health insurance plans, including Medicare.
Benefits of Gamma Knife radiosurgery
Multidisciplinary neurological specialists at Ascension Alexian Brothers Gamma Knife Center, have the expertise to deliver advanced care for brain disorders. Our team of neurosurgeons, neurologists, radiation oncologists and physicists work together to create a customized stereotactic radiosurgery treatment plan for your condition. Benefits of radiosurgery include:
- Delivery of a highly precise form of radiosurgery with an accuracy of better than 0.5mm and radiation shielding is 100 times better than alternative technologies.
- Minimally invasive, outpatient treatment; typically only one procedure is needed.
- Fewer risks than open surgery with NO general anesthesia required, only local anesthesia
- Return to daily activities, typically in 24-72 hours; rehabilitation (physical) therapy is rarely needed as part of your follow-up care.
- Covered or reimbursed by most major health insurance companies, including Medicare
- For cancer care, Gamma Knife can be used as a primary or supplemental treatment option in combination with surgery, chemotherapy, or other forms of radiation therapy, and typically does not interrupt a current chemotherapy schedule.
- An established radiosurgical procedure in the U.S. since 1988 with FDA approval. More than 700,000 patients have been treated with Gamma Knife worldwide.
